The Devil's Heartbeat
by Jake Caldefore
Summary: Nonslash, House/AR crossover. Dr. Gregory House was never a patient man, and when he is given the job to diagnose one 'Alex Rider,' he can't believe that the kid could be so...vague. Full summary inside. Rated for language and violence.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** For all those in wonder, I'm going to write complete this fanficion for my English teacher. Hopefully, I'll get an A+ on this thing, and you guys will shower me with nice reviews, right?

So, feedback is (always) obviously appreciated, and those of you waiting on my other numerous stories, I offer my deepest apologies for putting them on hiatus as of the moment.

Since this is for my English class, I'm going to need to update this story more and more often, so I guess that's good, as long as you like it…right?

**Reviews: **0

**Alerts: **0

**Favorites: **0

**Communities: **0

**Title: **The Devil's Heartbeat

**Author: **Jake Caldefore

**Rating: **T for violence and language.

**Summary: **Dr. Gregory House was never a patient man, and when he is given the job to diagnose one by the name of 'Alex Rider,' questions spring up, answers reveal themselves, and the truth is unraveling. House/AR crossover.

**Song: **"Chasing Cars" – Snow Patrol

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable settings, characters, and plots of _Alex Rider_ and _House, MD _belong to their respective owners. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only, and in no way is the author trying to get money off of this story.

* * *

**Chapter One: In Which I Prolong the Prologue **

In all honesty, the man was surprised. Of course, most people would be surprised if they had found a 15-year old boy laying the city gutter.

Upon seeing this phenomenon, the man – a melancholy soul by one Dr. Gregory House – had immediately checked the child's vitals after recovering from a temporary shock to his system. The boy was delusional but awake, muttering incoherently under his breath, which came out in short, seemingly painful bursts. His eyes were glazed over like the frozen winter ponds of New Jersey, and his skin was of a sickly pale pigment and cold to the touch. His only protection from the elements was a ragged pair of jeans and a torn T-shirt.

Dr. Gregory House sighed in frustration, his breath clouding before his eyes in the chilly morning air. He had a bag of groceries in his old blue backpack, a pained leg, a recently polished wooden cane, and now a sickly 15-year old he had to share his last bottle of Vicodin with.

So, it was understandable that he was quite upset.

Shifting his cane from his right hand to his left wrist, he struggled to find his pager, clipped onto his belt. Lifting the plastic device to his eyes while removing his hand from the thick black gloves he fashioned, he fingered several buttons before sending the short message to a Dr. Lisa Cuddy and a Dr. Allison Cameron.

Returning his pager to its rightful place on his belt, he dropped his backpack, letting it fall to the street with a dull thud. He then removed his gloves, scarf, and knit cap to the boy who lay prone on the street, trying in vain to thaw the frigid body.

Sitting back, blowing warm air onto his chilled fingertips, Dr. Gregory House could only wait as help sped on its way.

He tuned his head to watch the boy, before he grumbled incoherently into the biting wind. He crawled over to the prone figure and checked his worn pockets for any kind of ID.

He was in for his second surprise.

"A knife?" House muttered, and flicked it open with an experienced, weathered hand. He watched as the early light danced along the length of the blade. He fingered it for a moment, tracing the engraved, golden letters reading _XR_ on the body of the pocketknife.

He glanced at _XR_ (assuming that was his initials, for it might've been stolen), narrowing his eyes. He was probably some teenage runaway, crying because 'his mommy wouldn't tuck him in at night.'

He sat on the frozen asphalt, thinking more of the knife than the child's condition, before he was startled out of his musings when two pairs of footsteps and a call of "House" made him drop the pocketknife.

He turned around to see Cameron and Cuddy, his female 'buddies.'

"House, what are you doing out here? It's 5 in the morning. Are you drunk or something? Well, maybe not, because then you'd call Wilson over or something –" Cuddy broke off when House shifted his body so they could see the boy laying on the ground.

Cameron, the younger, more petite of the two female doctors, hurried to _XR_, stripping off her thick wool coat as Cuddy did the same.

House watched from a fair distance away, seemingly glaring at them with his head bowed. He watched as they bundled the boy up in their coats. He then noticed the boy flinch.

Curiosity ensnaring him into its grasp, he unsteadily got to his feet and stumbled towards the group. Cuddy and Cameron protested as he tried to grab the boy, but he pushed them away with his hand. He grabbed the bare skin on the boy's arm and squeezed it hard.

Cuddy and Cameron stopped protesting and stepped a bit farther back to watch the process. House seemed to grab and prod the boy with his hands, before he suddenly yelped a bit as the boy started seizing. Shouting in surprise, the female duo rushed to support the boy as he flailed, almost being knocked over in the process.

Soon after the attack, House stepped back and wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from his brow.

"Well, that can't be good."

* * *

Short chapter, 'cause it's a prologue, what do you expect?

Drop a review, it's good karma!


	2. A Brief Introduction to the Cast

**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry I updated so late. I was being lazy. There's also an explanation as to the AU parts of this story and the rough timeline at the end of this chapter.

**(Chapter 1)**

**Reviews: **32

Alerts: 22

**Favorites: **52 (They all end in 2. Are you guys trying to tell me something?)

**Communities: **3 (Holy crap.)

**Grade:** Waiting feedback.

**Beta: **No. Don't want one.

**Title:** The Devil's Heartbeat

**Author:** Jake Caldefore

**Rating:** T – strong language and violence

**Summary:** Dr. Gregory House was never a patient man, and when he is given the job to diagnose one by the name of 'Alex Rider,' questions spring up, answers reveal themselves, and the truth is unraveling. House/AR crossover.

**Song:**

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable settings, characters, and plots of _Alex Rider_ and _House, MD _belong to their respective owners. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only, and in no way is the author trying to get money off of this story. (Poor bloke.)**

* * *

Chapter 2:**

"Kid's showing signs of hypothermia. He's got seizures, high BP, elevated heart rate… Not much to work on until he gets sicker."

House was droning. Cameron wasn't particularly happy with his carefree attitude, but she didn't say anything. Dr. Eric Foreman, a tall black man, was fidgeting with the corners of the blue file. The blonde doctor – Dr. Robert Chase – was looking out the window, looking like a forlorn dog.

Then there were the other doctors. Remy Hadley – or "Thirteen," Lawrence Kutner, Chris Taub, and Amber Volakis – or "Cutthroat Bitch." Of course, they were all after a job under House's care, but Cameron and Chase were invited for 'a special party.'

Her attention was suddenly snapped back to House as he loudly growled, "Children, you have to pay attention, the teacher is speaking. I know I can figure this out all by myself, but Cuddy says that 'I have to have a team in case I happen to try to kill my patients.' So, with that idea in mind, let's try not to kill this patient, shall we?"

Cameron mentally scoffed, but offered, "Well, the hypothermia's obviously because he's been out there in the cold. Seizures are most likely something neurological."

"Plus, high blood pressure and his elevated heart rate could've been some kind of reaction to get the blood circulating in his body so his ears wouldn't fall off," Foreman continued, letting in a sarcastic tone clip his voice after he spoke. A few people rolled their eyes, but only the creaking of chairs and scuffling of feet could be heard.

"So, why are _all_ of us here? It can't be that hard to diagnose this patient, right?" Kutner rubbed his worn sneakers into the rug, waiting for a reprimanding. When none came, he sighed, rolled his eyes, and fiddled with the file.

After a few tense moments of silence, Taub asked timidly, "So, why are you so interested in this case anyways? It's not even _remotely_ interesting by your standards. It's not like he's got a bullet wound, or – "

House pounded his cane against the carpeted floor. "See here, he _does_ have a bullet wound. Right on his chest." He pointed to his own. "There's a giant scar there, and he's riddled with wounds. Even without his medical records, you would've at least known _that_ if you were actually paying attention to the damn physical instead of drooling!"

He snorted once in annoyance, before tossing his cane up and deftly catching it, the polished wood sending a resounding smack into the palm of his hand. "Now, we can all take turns seeing the kid, but you'll have to wait in line. And be quiet on the bus! No more spitballs!" He turned and swung the glass doors of his office wide open, before briskly striding down the hall.

The doctors in the room sent wary glances at one another, before Amber whispered, "I think that's our cue." With that, they raised their eyebrows, glanced at each other, before heading out the door.

* * *

Alex yawned, stretching in his uncomfortably small hospital bed. He turned onto his side, careful not to jiggle the IV or the heart monitor clip. Uncomfortable seemed like an understatement. The blankets felt itchy, and the pillow wasn't fluffed very well.

At least it was better than sleeping on a stone floor.

He was startled by the sound of the glass door opening. He inwardly scowled. Why were all the rooms made of glass? The only thing that allowed any privacy was the large, vertical blinds, and even _they_ didn't help much.

He craned his neck towards the doors and watched as a somewhat old man strode in, cane in hand, wearing a blue suit with an open collar. He had a scruffy appearance, his hair messy and his chin unshaven. His eyes were cold and calculating, and Alex unconsciously shivered.

"Are you cold?"

The question took him so completely by surprise, he almost fell off the small bed. He lay staring up at the strange man, an eyebrow cocked questioningly on his brow.

"N-no."

The man merely nodded, just as a dozen or so doctors – each sporting a white coat with tags on them – squeezed through the tiny doorframe and nearly toppled into the room. In their haste they had knocked over a chair and nearly upturned a cabinet.

Both Alex and the gruff man both watched with disinterest but scoffed at their clumsiness. Alex watched as a woman – long black curls and a slightly shorter build than the rest – picked herself off of the pile of squirming doctors and gave a crooked grin.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at this hospital. This is Dr. House. He's going to make you better. If he ever bothers you, antagonizes you, or harasses you in any which way, take your problems directly to me. Okay?"

She threw a glare at the man who stood beside his bed – Dr. House – before turning another smile back at Alex. She then turned to the giant heap behind her and shooed them out of the room, sliding the glass door closed behind them.

Another half-hearted grin, before she dropped her mouth down into a scowl and marched back outside, tugging on House's sleeve.

What a strange occurrence.

* * *

This story is set after _Snakehead_ and during the fourth season of _House_. Amber Volakis hasn't died (yet), and of the original forty, we have Taub, Amber, Kutner, Thirteen, and uh... some others... Foreman, Chase, Cameron, Cuddy, the usual.

Probably no romance, but if there is it's gonna be Chameron or Huddy.

No Sabina.

Sorry for the short chapter - just introducing House and Cuddy to Alex.


	3. Interruption

You are currently reading **The Devil's Heartbeat**, a crossover fanfic between the TV show House and the book series Alex Rider.

Alerts: 139

Favs: 59

Hits: 2925

Reviews: 83

C2s: 8

I actually meant for Foreman to say 'low BP' instead of 'high BP…' Please take that into consideration…not that that really matters or anything, y'know… Just saying.

Disclaimer: Never gonna give you up,

Never gonna let you down,

Never gonna run around and desert you,

Never gonna make you cry,

Never gonna say goodbye,

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

That's right. YOU ALL GOT RICK ROLL'D!

But really. I claim no rights to Alex Rider, House, or 24.

**I just wanted to say how AWESOME FFN is with the new crossover section! THANK YOU.

* * *

**

Alex's eyes snapped open when he heard the faint rustling of cloth, only to jerk back in surprise after finding Dr. House's face mere inches away from his own. The older man straightened from his stooped position, and tapped his cane on the linoleum tiling.

"What the bloody hell was _that!?_" Alex cried indignantly, sitting upright. Unbeknown to Alex, House had caught the sudden slip-up in his accent, but said nothing. Instead, he walked a full circle around to the other side of the bed and loomed dangerously over the bedridden boy.

Cameron entered the room several minutes later – with chart in hand – only to stop short after seeing what appeared to be a full-out, one-on-one glaring contest. She opened her mouth, then closed it abruptly. She half-turned, before asking, "House, do you want the results?"

House held the glare for a moment longer before taking the offered chart into his hands. He quickly skimmed over it before leaving the room, trying to brush past a slightly agitated Cuddy. He was immediately stopped, and Cuddy walked into the room with chart in hand.

"Dr. Cameron, I've told you countless times about this case that I wanted all lab work results, diagnoses, symptoms, _everything_ – including how many times House has slipped into the bathroom in the last six hours – reported to me directly before handing out information willy-nilly to other people."

Cameron had a slightly odd look on her face, but she tapped the chart with a single finger. "I think we should talk in your office about the results from the lab work."

Cuddy seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she dismissed, waving her hand towards the open door.

As Cameron left, Cuddy asked, "Now, can you tell me – " She was suddenly cut off by Kutner's abrupt entrance.

"Uh…am I…?"

Cuddy and Kutner exchanged a few hushed words before Cuddy gave Alex a half-hearted smile. She left, grumbling under her breath, "He is _so_ dead…"

The newer doctor pulled up a chair so he could sit next to Alex. Cuddy had left with a chart, but he was holding a maroon-colored file in his hands. They looked at each other for a moment before Alex's gaze wandered off to the side and at the equipment piled around the room.

Kutner nervously cleared his throat and flipped open the file. "We don't have very much information on _you_, personally. So, if you don't mind, I'll just, uh, ask a few questions…" His voice trailed off as he glanced at the thin file. He cleared his throat again before he began.

"What's your name?"

"Alex."

"…Do you have a last name?"

"Sure."

"Can you tell me what it is?"

"Is it medically relevant?"

"No. Well, yes it is, 'cause we need your previous medical history so we know what kind of circumstances you've been in and maybe certain medications or conditions you've had."

"Well, my medical file isn't exactly, ah, _open to the public._"

Kutner looked confused. "Well, it's not going to be. There's something called patient-doctor confidentiality –"

Alex cut him off before he could embarrass himself further. "Err, no. It's not like that. It's a bit more…_complicated_."

There was a lull in the mass stream of questions and retorts as Kutner looked down at the file once more. He seemed to switch gears, as he suddenly jumped into a different round of questions.

"So, who is it that you live with? Where do you live? Is there anyone we can contact? How about your parents?"

"Well, see…" Alex trailed off, not knowing how to answer. Should he tell him that his parents died in a plane crash, going with the lies MI6 had fed him for thirteen plus years of his life? "They died in a plane crash when I was small. I lived with my uncle, but then he died in a car accident. My godfather was killed in a random shooting, but I didn't really like him all that much." _Especially for trying to kill me,_ he thought.

Kutner raised an eyebrow, but looked down at Alex with a strange look in his eyes. "So, does anyone look after you?"

"Well, my guardian… I don't know what happened to her." He let a tone of frustration seep into his voice. It wasn't really staged – he had worried about her since he landed in the hospital.

Kutner leaned forward. "Did something happen to her?"

"I just told you that I don't know what happened to her. And no, but I don't know where she is or might be right now," Alex snapped, feigning irritation.

"Sorry. Do you know why you're here? Do you remember anything that might have happened in the past several days?"

"Well, on Saturday I went swimming." It was true – he'd been thrown in a giant tank of sharks.

Kutner made a noise that sounded like something between a choke and a laugh. "I meant –"

"Yeah, I know what you meant." Suddenly a dark look flitted across his face for a moment, but a split second later it was quickly replaced with a blank mask that settled on his features.

"I –"

Amber and Taub burst into the room at that precise moment, saving Alex from the long and complicated process called "lying." Not that he _needed_ saving from it, because he was a quite adept storyteller. Amber was holding a file full of papers while Taub was empty-handed.

Kutner had stood up and they exchanged several words for a few long moments, leaving Alex alone on his bed. They were standing in a lopsided triangle with their backs turned to Alex, but occasionally turned to point something out. He watched as Taub jammed a finger at something on one of the papers and Amber point at another one before Kutner just grabbed both of the sheets. He shuffled through, scanning quickly, before he shoved them both into Amber's arms and stage-whispered, "Hurry!"

Kutner and Amber rushed out of the room, leaving slightly flustered Taub behind with a slightly agitated Alex. Taub gave a weak grin and a small wave, and left the room after them.

Alex sighed and sank back into the pillows, his arms and legs starting to ache.

* * *

"House! House! Did you – ah, hey there Dr. Cuddy."

Cuddy set a frown on her face and raised an eyebrow.

"See, we just got –"

"We need to –"

"– the results from –"

"– see House because –"

"– the lab work we did, and –"

"– we found out that the –"

"Whoa. Stop for a moment. One at a time."

Amber rolled her eyes and Kutner impatiently tapped his foot. They waited for the other to start.

"So, we found out that –"

"The results said that –"

They glared at each other and Amber started. "We ran a tox screen on the kid's blood work and –"

" – it came out positive for –" Kutner cut in.

"Hyoscine and sodium pentothal. I don't know how that stuff got in this kid's bloodstream, so go do some digging around. And go tell House to hurry up and find that kid's damn medical file already, it shouldn't be taking this long!"

Kutner and Amber both looked surprised, but nodded and wordlessly scuttled away.

* * *

"House."

House grumbled and shifted.

"_House_," the voice called louder.

House grunted and cracked one eye open to see Wilson looming over him. He yawned, pushed Wilson away, and stretched.

"So, Jimmy, how's it –"

"_House_," Wilson sternly cut off. "You need to read the results from the toxicology report. Stop dozing and get to work."

House looked scandalized. He scoffed. "First of all, I was _not_ dozing. Second, I need my rest, 'cause Cuddy won't…" He muttered incoherently for a moment. "Third, I'm pretty sure that the kid's not dying. I bet he was faking the seizure. And…what number am I on?"

Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, you cut me off! I was talking, Jimmy-boy. Seriously, children these days…" he grumbled.

"House," Wilson sighed. "Just read the report."

House glanced at him, before opening the file. His eyes scanned the paper until he hit the bold, red lettering.

"Hyoscine and sodium thiopental? So what, he's recently been in a medically induced coma, and maybe some narcotic painkillers?"

"But he shouldn't be having scopolamine or thiopental in him. They're both too strong, and there shouldn't be any reason as to being put into a medically induced coma. If there was, we'd being seeing signs of it at least."

House looked thoughtful. "So…how _does_ a kid manage to get pumped up with drugs he hasn't taken?

* * *

This is barely six pages, but voila. I've done minimal research on the two drugs (they go by different names, so excuse me if they aren't consistent) so I don't know the full extent of them. If you guys have seen _24_, you'll know what they're used for when they're combined…

Okay, I'm going to answer anonymous reviews and people who've reviewed but I just never replied. If I don't reply here either, just PM me and I'll PM you back. (I noticed that I haven't replied to a single one of you since the prologue…)**

* * *

l8rg8r123**: Okay, I love you too...? And…smarticle is a great word. I will have to (somehow) try to incorporate that into one of my stories, and praise you and your smarticleness. And, is it really possible at this point to call you my loyal friend? –wink- **| Ch2:** If you want to be the worse… -shrugs-

**PsychoWing**: All in good time. It will be revealed shortly.

**whatever95**: Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little fangirl squee once in awhile, right? I mean, as long as you're not my sister. But really, I've handled fangirls well (enjoy my physique? Haha!). **| Ch2:** Nothing is ever coincidence… Whoo… -ghost voice-

**swabloo**: I actually intend to have this story in Third Person Omniscient, so I don't think there's much point in righting POV's. Plus, POV's are extremely tricky because you really have to dig inside the characters' heads and really _think_ what they're thinking. People don't actually think in sentences (unless you watch _Scrubs_ or _Dexter_, there's nothing out there to contradict me – and those are for flare), so that's just a big reason why I don't like doing character POV's. And…I'm rambling.

**MixedUpAndMadeUp**: First off: I love your name. And no, you're not being dense. I was browsing through the AR Archives, and I stumbled upon another House/AR x-over. (Actually, I don't know. It was awhile back.) I'm not sure if they're being copycats or what (no offense to them), but they're somewhere…

**CunningMascara**: Wow. The great authoress herself! –bows- I'm honored. Really. I love your stories. And I jumped on over to the timeline. Can I give you dates and stuff for SK and the other books? Once I actually look into them, of course… And maybe you could start a timeline focusing on Alex specifically? Like, when he was born, incident of Albert Bridge, plane crash, etc. I'll PM you once I get the chance. Anyway, back to the thing at hand. Yes, more frequent updates (if you could call it frequent…). And you are my favorite person too, now. **Ch2: **I think I've spent most of my time replying back to your reviews (which are much luv, thanks).

**sheluby94dremer**: We're all enjoying "Project SAS" right now. And as to exactly _why_ Alex is in New Jersey… You'll find out. And thanks for the review. –grin- **| Ch2:** Oh, right… The long awaited lengthy conversation that I'm going to have just too much trouble with trying to keep away the characters in the story (mainly House) from turning into characters that just sound too OOC for their own good while keeping the sentences and rants just jam-packed and absolutely filled over the brim with delicious, somewhat-unhealthy sarcasm and lengthy rants that could fill up a whole page without even stopping to bother with commas or periods as I am rambling about right now.

**Lal Mirch**: The title was kind of spontaneous. But I will incorporate it into the story… AND AHA! THANK YOU! I just got an idea! Whoo!

**The Gentleman J**: Your name is a bit misleading… And, speech or no, I take into open arms that you reviewed.

**Phoenix4Life**: Yeah, the new review button is a bit icky (but I don't review much anyway…bad me). And, A+? I'm not sure. It's a work in progress (and a semi-WIP) and I should finish it before I get a grade. Otherwise, I'm getting good marks. Thanks for the review.

**ponygirl-loves-mcqueen**: The beginning isn't hard for me, but the end is. Ugh. It's like deciding whether to dump it in a vat of boiling peanut-shrimp (HA! _SIMPSONS!_) or to roll it up and put it in a bottle to send into the sea. And…wait, that didn't make any sense whatsoever. Uh, think of it like a simile.

**vballmania**: Muchos gracias for the review. And the luck. I'll be needing that…

**Saynt Jimmy**: Hey, good to see you're alive! And…ooh, _The Firm_… Sounds spooky. Like a John Grisham novel. And hey, look at that! It _is_ a John Grisham novel! And me? I deserve an A+? Gee, thanks!

**Clouded Horizon**: Wow, I actually forgot about that. My teacher doesn't watch _House_, I don't think. Actually, I have no clue. But still, I totally forgot. I'm just sitting here in my corner of the universe writing for you, the audience. –laughs- **| Ch2:** Really? I think Taub's like a mouse. I have to watch more of season four and five. Did Kutner really commit suicide? I've only watched the season premiere. Kal Penn's off in the White House, right? I'm missing out on so much. Ugh.

**Sofer**: Ah, well, it's a dog-eat-dog world (whatever _that_ means). I have to learn to live, eh? But if they didn't get off my back, I'd be eaten alive and unable to update anyway! HA!

**Foreverwolf**: I am forever the crossover king (ooh, an alliteration). I love dappling with canons and universes…

**dyingimmortal**: Ah, what an oxymoronic name you have! I absolutely love it. And…all in due time, my friend. Patience.

**irish-hailsy**: Ah, my dear gal, how are you? I've missed you. And have fun with sleep-deprived school days. For the love of God, don't fall asleep in class! And your scary voice is scaring me. Please lock it away.

**jacuzzin**: Yay! I updated again!

**randomness**: Okay, I'm not sure whether you are all different anonymous people who are calling themselves that or what, but you've reviewed with that name at least five times I think. I'm getting a bit dizzy. And there's only one other AR/House crossover in existence, but you'll have to find it yourself (or yourselves). First of all, it's going to sell away all the competition! I don't do that! I play _hard and dirty_!

**Nyxelestia**: Hey Nyxie! Thanks for the much-appreciated review. Sorry your name is all the way down here, and I have no excuse as to why. Hopefully I improved even more in this chapter. Thanks for the idea. I will definitely incorporate it into the storyline. And romance is an icky thing that I just can't do. Grovel and beg all you want, but you don't need to. I'll go to you for help all the time. –grins-  


* * *

Sorry for misleading all you guys into thinking that this was a trop long de chapter. I really didn't want to reply personally, because it would take too long. And doesn't it feel nice to see your name written all over the place? I promise I'll make it short for the review reply section next chapter.

Ciao.

-Caldecott


End file.
